For the last three weeks, we examined the various ProAdvisor Certifications Insightful Accountant recognizes as the minimum certification requirement for the Top 100 Awards Process for domestic applicants. As previously mentioned, a future article regarding international applicant certifications will be presented later in this series.
Please remember that Intuit's QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program administers all QuickBooks ProAdvisor Certifications. Even those certifications may be subject to change, by Intuit, any time between now and the 2024 official Top 100 application form.
Possessing one of the three Intuit US ProAdvisor Certifications, QuickBooks Online Certification, QuickBooks Online Advanced Certification and QuickBooks Desktop Certification, meeting the minimum requirement is just a start for anyone actively seeking Top 100 ProAdvisor status.
That's why Insightful Accountant also rates US applicants on Intuit ProAdvisor Certifications that are ancillary or additional to the minimum requirement as part of the total certification ranking. This includes QuickBooks Online Payroll Certification, QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise Certification and QuickBooks Desktop Point of Sale 19.0 Certification.
Insightful Accountant awards points as part of the Top 100 Awards process for these certifications on both a current and historical basis if an applicant has reported a current certification for any of the recognized Intuit US ProAdvisor Certifications meeting the minimum requirement.
It should be noted that Intuit has announced the discontinuation of QuickBooks Desktop Point of Sale as of October 3, 2023. While Insightful Accountant has no confirmation of such, it is likely that QuickBooks Desktop Point of Sale 19.0 Certification, as mentioned above, will also be dropped from the official certification offerings sometime after Oct. 3, 2023.
Accordingly, Insightful Accountant reserves the right to withdraw the awarding of current and historical basis points related to said certification during the Top 100 2024 Awards process should such events occur.
A major way for US candidates to earn extra points in each of the Top 100 Categories is to expand their ProAdvisor certifications beyond the required minimum of QBO-Online, QBO-Online Advanced or QuickBooks Desktop.
The next logical step after earning these three certs is to earn the QuickBooks Online Payroll ProAdvisor Certification. — Murph
QuickBooks Online Payroll Certification
This certification is designed to identify your skills in calculating and processing payroll for your clients. The preparation training enables you to distinguish the features and capabilities of the various QuickBooks Online Payroll products.
QBO Payroll Certification Training includes 1.5 hours of instruction in on-boarding and supporting clients regarding QBO Payroll subscriptions, payroll set-up, using the Payroll Center and managing employees and contractors.
To note, 1.25 hours of instruction covers the various features and capabilities ranging from running payroll, automating payroll, managing unscheduled payroll requirements, and voiding and deleting paychecks in QBO Payroll.
Source: Intuit QuickBooks ProAdvisor Certification Tab
Another 1.5 hours includes payroll reporting, reconciliation, processing liability and tax payments, managing tax penalties, and year-end activities. The curriculum is concluded with another 1.5 hours of learning about advanced options and features in QBO Payroll.
This certification training can earn you 5.75 hours of training credits and 5 CPE credits.
But that's not really where preparation for the QBO Payroll Certification ends. Insightful Accountant recommends Top 100 applicants complete Intuit's Payroll fundamentals training before taking the payroll certification examination.
QuickBooks ProAdvisor Payroll Fundamentals — This additional three hours of instruction is designed for anyone interested in supporting clients with their payroll needs and seeking to be a payroll specialist.
In addition to the three hours of training credits, you earn 2.5 CPEs.
Source: Intuit QuickBooks ProAdvisor Certification Tab
And still, there is one more preparatory step that Insightful Accountant recommends for Top 100 applicants. Within the ProAdvisor Certification Hub, you will find a Certification Prep offering for QBO Payroll.
QuickBooks Online Payroll Certification Preparation – This training covers the benefits of Payroll Certification and certification exam preparation. The three modules cover how to become certified, topics on the Payroll exam and sample questions related to the QBO Payroll Certification exam. The total time for this exam preparation is one hour and 45 minutes.
Source: Intuit QuickBooks ProAdvisor Certification Tab
While there have been a couple of renditions of the QuickBooks Online Payroll Certification training and exam over the last few years, Intuit has not yet announced a certification tenure concerning QuickBooks Online Payroll Certification. As such, the term current does not apply to this certification as of the time of this article.
You can earn a bundle of Training-points, CPE credits, and Certification-points by taking and passing the Payroll Certification. (Murph)
If, and when, Intuit issues a certification tenure (or expiration period) and establishes requirements and mechanisms for re-certification in QBO Payroll, Insightful Accountant will establish a relevant definition of currency related to all such certifications applicable to the Top 100 process.
As of the date of this publication, concerning the Top 100 process 2024 Awards Year, QuickBooks Online Payroll Certifications issued before the closing date of the formal application closing date will be considered timely, regardless of the date of issuance.
However, a descending number of certification credit points will be awarded for each month said certification was last earned from said closing date.
For example, a certification issued one month before the application close date will be valued higher than a certification date one year prior, and a certification date one year prior will be valued higher than a certification date two years prior, etc.
Next week, we will look at QuickBooks Enterprise Certification.
Footnotes & Disclosures:
As used herein, QuickBooks®, QuickBooks ProAdvisor (Program), and QuickBooks Online Payroll (product and certification) may refer to one or more registered trademarks of Intuit Inc., a publicly-traded corporation headquartered in Mountain View, California.
Some feature content and graphic materials may have been adapted from Intuit source content, including QuickBooks ProAdvisor-related certification resource materials. Such adapted source content and materials are furnished for educational purposes only by Insightful Accountant.
This is an editorial feature, not sponsored content. No vendor within this article has paid Insightful Accountant or the author any remuneration to be included in this feature. The article is provided solely for informational and educational purposes.
Neither the publication of this article nor the inclusion of any product herein represents any endorsement by either the author or Insightful Accountant.
Note: Registered Trademark ® symbols have been eliminated from the articles within this publication for brevity due to the frequency or abundance with which they would otherwise appear or be repeated. We attempt to credit such trademarked products within our respective article footnotes and disclosures.
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